High data rate and/or broad-band digital signal processing makes it possible to extract a large quantity of information either by transmitting radio signals over a noisy channel, or else by demultiplexing frequency division multiplex (FDM) signals in telecommunications applications. The digital filtering technique of the invention is also applicable in systems for receiving radar signals, e.g. synthetic aperture radars, Doppler radars, or for extracting radar signatures.
Techniques for digitizing signals and processing them digitally provide the systems that use them with a high degree of flexibility. Unfortunately, a limitation of such systems is that the maximum rate at which data can be processed is tied to the input data sampling frequency Fe.
In known systems, the sampling frequency can be increased, but with a corresponding cost of an increase in mass, power consumption, complexity, and cost of the system up to a limit imposed by the technological state of the art of the components used. This limit appears to be unsurpassable using present-day technologies and known architectures.